For years the internet has been best way to feed that desire to know every single detail about a new favorite actor, TV show, game or movie. But what happens when pure information just isn’t enough anymore? Despite all those Wikipedia pages about foreign politics begging to be clicked on, there’s something so much better and entertaining. Cult Inspired is a new startup aiming for the audience who wants more from their entertainment.

Often things like critical acclaim and ratings matter very little to fans. Even if a show or movie has those in spades, it isn’t enough to slake the thirst. The minds behind Cult Inspired know that people need new and creative ways to express an undying love for their favorite things. How? With one simple word: stuff. From Angry Birds cakes and Harry Potter Snuggies to Fight Club soaps and Star Trek Enterprise pizza cutters, Cult Inspired covers a wide range of stuff inspired by decades’ worth of film, television and video games.

Franchises like Star Wars, The Walking Dead, Super Mario, Lord of the Rings, and Zelda have amassed legions of fans over the years and just as much merchandise. The thing is, most of that official merchandise lacks a personal flair for the buyer. Sure, it’s cool to have to a t-shirt that will get some nods and laughs from a fellow fan or a gold embossed hardback art book that has “Collector’s Edition” stamped on it. Cult Inspired, however, knows that more is better. Why stick to shirts and licensed toys when there are ice cube trays, toilet seat covers, board games, flash drives and more?

On the home page visitors will find links to the most recent posts which do a good job of showing the sort of variety that Cult Inspired offers. Navigation can be done page by page or through one of the ten quick category links at the top. Art, consumable, crafts, office and toys are just a few categories that content is housed under. Category descriptions are extremely easy to understand with consumable being food or cooking related items, wearables being things you can wear and so on. One nice thing about using these categories is that they aren’t strictly inclusive which means that life-sized Predator sculpture isn’t just considered a piece of art but a decorative statue for your home (and what a terrifying place to live that would be). This method of organization is helpful to people who might not know exactly where their thing of interest will be. In the future, though, more discretion could be helpful when parsing through what falls under which category; Star Wars USB characters seem more in line with office and tech items than just a simple toy, for example.

Cult Inspired’s strength truly lies in its simplicity. Reminiscent of a Tumblr page or Pinterest board, posts are stacked in rows with the item name and a succinct description. Because images are what will lure the most viewers in, the text never gets in the way or feels overly long. If someone wants to know more they just click the image, the item name or the read more button, hard to go wrong there. Since Cult Inspired uses direct links to the item’s store page—usually on Thinkgeek, Etsy, or Amazon—and shows the price, it makes it quick to decide whether the product warrants a purchase or not.

One thing the website currently lacks is a tagging and search feature. A fan of the TV show Dexter might notice the Dexter board game on the home page and want to see if there are any other items that might pique their interest. Unless they plan on searching each category they will miss out on the cool looking Dexter blood-spattered coasters found in the home section. A simple “Dexter” tag would be perfect and helpful for that person.

Though Cult Inspired is in its growing stages, it certainly has promise. While most of their content is aggregated from various websites and shops around the net it only features certain items not instead of everything, a plus when considering how crowded it would make things. There is original content such as the “Top 10 Places to Go If ‘The Walking Dead’ Became a Reality” article but it takes a backseat to the piles of stuff that can be purchased, hopefully that will changed in the future. If anything, Cult Inspired is very mindful of their audience and provides interesting and cool content. What more could you want?

Ben Sheene

Ben is from Kentucky where he originally began playing games (an activity he still continues to this day). With a love for writing he graduated from Centre College with a BA in English. He recently moved to California to pursue whatever future endeavors were there. A passion for music, gaming, blogging, and existing keeps him up at night and crafts him into the person he is today.